Mass-affluent millennials — those with $50,000–$250,000 ininvestable assets — are in a funk over their student loans. Theybelieve that they haven’t saved enough toward retirement because ofthat mountain of student debt hanging over their heads.

Among mass affluent respondents in the U.S., according to asurvey conducted by Braun Research Inc. on behalf of Bank ofAmerica’s latest Merrill Edge report, the feeling in general isguilt — for not investing enough in 2014 and for other financialdecisions they’ve made during the year.

While a full third of respondents said they feel guilty for notinvesting enough during the year and lesser numbers feel guiltyabout food and drink decisions (18 percent) and lack of time theyspent with their loved ones (17 percent), millennials stood out aschalking up their lack of retirement savings to student debt.

More than half of respondents to the survey (51 percent) saidthey saved nothing at all for retirement in 2014. And only a third(35 percent) of those nonsavers said they intended to change theirways in 2015.

However, on the positive side, 83 percent of those who did sockmoney away for their golden years during 2014 intend to do the samenext year.

But then there’s that pesky student debt. Of those respondentswho have outstanding student loans, 65 percent are saying they haveto pay that debt off completely before they can save forretirement. And of those with student debt, 45 percent say theyfeel guilty for not investing enough in 2014, while only 27 percentof those who aren’t laboring under that particular sword ofDamocles feel guilty for not investing enough.

And as far as 2015 goes, 59 percent of mass affluents overallintend to make retirement saving a goal. Among those, 78 percent ofGen Xers are focused on investing and saving for retirement in2015, compared with boomers (68 percent) or millennials (56percent).

See also:

• Gen Z: Just as worried as Y and X
• Millennials end up in stocks for retirement headstart
• Millennials savvy when considering retirement